Open Access

Hepatitis B envelope antigen increases Tregs by converting CD4+CD25‑ T cells into CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ Tregs

  • Authors:
    • Rui Tang
    • Zhigang Lei
    • Xinpeng Wang
    • Qianqian Qi
    • Jingjing He
    • Dan Liu
    • Xiaoxian Wang
    • Xiaojun Chen
    • Jifeng Zhu
    • Yalin Li
    • Sha Zhou
    • Chuan Su
  • View Affiliations

  • Published online on: August 6, 2020     https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2020.9107
  • Pages: 3679-3686
  • Copyright: © Tang et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) can establish a lifelong chronic infection in humans, leading to liver cirrhosis, liver failure and hepatocellular carcinoma. Patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) exhibit a weak virus‑specific immune response. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) play a key role in regulating the immune response in patients with CHB. Patients with hepatitis B envelope antigen (HBeAg)‑positive CHB harbored a higher percentage of Tregs in their peripheral blood than those with HBeAg‑negative CHB. However, whether and how HBeAg manipulates the host immune system to increase the population of Tregs remains to be elucidated. The present manuscript describes a preliminary immunological study of HBeAg in a mouse model. Multiple potential CD4+ T cell epitopes in HBeAg were identified using Immune Epitope Database consensus binding prediction. It was demonstrated that HBeAg treatment increased the numbers of Tregs in mouse spleens in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, it was indicated that the HBeAg‑mediated increase in Tregs occurred through the conversion of CD4+CD25‑ T cells into CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ Tregs. Additionally, in vitro study illustrated that HBeAg stimulated murine spleen cells to produce increased transforming growth factor‑β, which is required to enable HBeAg to convert T cells into Tregs. The results of the present study may provide further evidence of the effect of HBeAg on Tregs and aid in the development of novel HBeAg‑based immunotherapy for CHB.
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October-2020
Volume 20 Issue 4

Print ISSN: 1792-0981
Online ISSN:1792-1015

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Spandidos Publications style
Tang R, Lei Z, Wang X, Qi Q, He J, Liu D, Wang X, Chen X, Zhu J, Li Y, Li Y, et al: Hepatitis B envelope antigen increases Tregs by converting CD4+CD25‑ T cells into CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ Tregs. Exp Ther Med 20: 3679-3686, 2020
APA
Tang, R., Lei, Z., Wang, X., Qi, Q., He, J., Liu, D. ... Su, C. (2020). Hepatitis B envelope antigen increases Tregs by converting CD4+CD25‑ T cells into CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ Tregs. Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine, 20, 3679-3686. https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2020.9107
MLA
Tang, R., Lei, Z., Wang, X., Qi, Q., He, J., Liu, D., Wang, X., Chen, X., Zhu, J., Li, Y., Zhou, S., Su, C."Hepatitis B envelope antigen increases Tregs by converting CD4+CD25‑ T cells into CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ Tregs". Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine 20.4 (2020): 3679-3686.
Chicago
Tang, R., Lei, Z., Wang, X., Qi, Q., He, J., Liu, D., Wang, X., Chen, X., Zhu, J., Li, Y., Zhou, S., Su, C."Hepatitis B envelope antigen increases Tregs by converting CD4+CD25‑ T cells into CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ Tregs". Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine 20, no. 4 (2020): 3679-3686. https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2020.9107